BROOKS VS. PHIL HIGHLIGHTS FRIDAY’S QUARTERFINALS MATCHES

Some described it as spicy. The two captains did not.

“That was very subtle last year for what we both are capable of,” Mickelson said.

This year, they can go at each other inside the ropes – specifically in the Quarterfinals, with Koepka’s Smash GC drawing Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC during Wednesday’s Team Championship selection show at Trump National Doral.

Their Friday showdown pits the six-time major winner Mickelson against the five-time major winner Koepka, who comes into the season-ending tournament fresh off his playoff win Sunday over Individual Champion Talor Gooch in Jeddah. The Koepka-Mickelson duel will be one of the key matches during the first day of action on the Blue Monster.

Alas, there was no trash-talking – spicy or subtle – between the two captains this time. Only mutual respect.

“Brooks has played some of the best golf of anybody in the world this year,” Mickelson said. “… There’s a lot of other guys I would rather be playing against. So, I’ve got my work cut out for me, but I have the utmost respect for him. Anytime I have a chance to play with him or against him, I enjoy it.”

Added Koepka: “It will be a good matchup. It will be fun.”

With Smash as the eighth seed, Koepka didn’t have a choice in his opponents. The HyFlyers were the last team left on the board, an indication that the higher-seeded clubs feared them the most.

Stinger GC Captain Louis Oosthuizen, whose team dropped to the 5th seed after failing to secure a top-4 bye in Jeddah, selected the No. 12 and last seed Iron Heads GC with the first pick. No surprise there.

But it did give Iron Heads GC Captain Kevin Na the opportunity to take a dig at the all-South African team. Referring to his Zimbabwean teammate Scott Vincent, whose impressive play in Jeddah secured his Lock Zone status for next season, Na said: “I have the better Southern African on my team.”

Fireballs GC Captain Sergio Garcia had the next pick as the No. 6 seed. He selected No. 11 seed Majesticks GC, which means he’ll face co-captain Henrik Stenson, a clash of former Ryder Cup teammates and European golfing legends.

Responded Stenson: “I guess they just want to have a Saturday off.”

With Stenson taking the Captain’s assignment this week, the Majesticks are partnering the other two co-captains, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, in Foursomes. Their match-play experience could be a factor against the Fireballs’ duo of Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz.

But Garcia is confident the Mexico twosome will prevail. “I would put them against Brooks and Bryson, and I will be very comfortable with it,” he said.

Replied Stenson about the move to combine Poulter and Westwood, who played the two Singles matches for Majesticks last year: “I think we saw they were going to put Abe and Carlos together, and unfortunately they couldn’t play Bryson and Brooks, so they’ve got a tough matchup against Ian and Lee.”

Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith was next. Selecting the HyFlyers would’ve meant a rematch with Mickelson; the two competed against each other in last year’s Quarterfinals, with Smith winning 1-up and his team advancing to the next round.

Instead, Smith opted for Cleeks GC, which comes off its only podium result of the season, a third place in Jeddah. And unlike last year, the Cleeks will have captain Martin Kaymer in action; a wrist injury last year forced him to the sidelines, with the Cleeks needing to use a substitute player.

“To be honest, I thought Sergio was going to pick the Cleeks,” Smith said.

“Sergio was scared, obviously,” Kaymer said.

That left Smash vs. HyFlyers. Koepka vs. Mickelson in one Singles match. Jason Kokrak vs. Cameron Tringale in the other Singles. And Chase Koepka-Matthew Wolff vs. Brendan Steele-James Piot in Foursomes, a match that includes two players (Chase, Piot) who will be relegated out of the league after this week.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s the internal drama of the Smash team, with Brooks acknowledging Wednesday that he doesn’t interact with Wolff ­– who no doubt will be looking to join a new team after this week.

Imagine if Smash emerges as the team champions this week. Awkward …

“Golf,” Brooks said. “Anything can happen.”